NC State Names New Dean of College of Natural Resources

Myron Floyd has been named dean of the College of Natural Resources at North Carolina State University after a nationwide search. His appointment becomes effective April 1.

NC State Provost Warwick Arden announced the appointment today.

“With more than 35 years of experience in administration, teaching and research at four land grant universities, Dr. Floyd brings a wealth of knowledge and skills to this leadership role,” Arden says. “His interdisciplinary perspective and extensive background in human dimensions of natural resources will be an asset to the college. I am confident that Dr. Floyd will continue to build on the exceptional foundation and momentum of the college to further advance its reputation as a leader in natural resources innovation.”

Most recently, Floyd served as the interim dean of the College of Natural Resources. He first joined the college in 2005 as a professor in the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management. In 2010, he was appointed to serve as director of graduate programs for the department, and in 2014 he became department head.

“The College of Natural Resources has a rich legacy,” Floyd says. “Throughout its 90 years of existence, the college has been a leader in educating natural resources professionals, advancing scientific understanding of forest and natural resource systems, and meeting the needs of industry partners.

“I am honored and grateful to be chosen to lead one of the country’s premier natural resources colleges. Together, along with our students, staff and faculty, I am looking forward to continuing our work to deliver solutions to address our most pressing natural resources and environmental challenges.”

An elected fellow of the Academy of Leisure Sciences and the American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration, Floyd is widely recognized as a leading scholar focused on understanding race and ethnic patterns in outdoor recreation behavior. His most recent research examines how public parks and green spaces and other features of the built environment contribute to physical activity in low-income communities of color.

He is co-author of Race, Ethnicity, and Leisure: Perspectives on Research, Theory, and Practice, as well as 95 peer-reviewed journal articles, 22 peer-reviewed monographs and proceedings papers, 18 book chapters, and more than 100 presentation papers and abstracts. In 2008, he was awarded the Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt Award, the highest award for research excellence from the National Recreation and Park Association.

I am honored and grateful to be chosen to lead one of the country’s premier natural resources colleges.

During his tenure as head of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management, Floyd grew the department’s teaching, research and extension capacity by adding faculty expertise in new areas, including land use and ecosystem services, conservation behavior, environmental education, diversity and environmental justice, crowdsourcing data for health research, geospatial analytics and worksite physical activity.

Before taking on the role of department head, his research program focused almost exclusively on understanding the capacity of neighborhood parks and green space to promote physical activity and reduce health disparities. He has served as principal investigator or co-investigator on numerous large multidisciplinary research teams funded by governmental and non-governmental organizations, including the United States Forest Service, the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Floyd has served in several national and state leadership roles. In February 2014, he was appointed to a three-year term on the Forestry Research Advisory Council by then U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. The 11-member council advised the secretary on issues concerning forestry and natural resources. Most recently, he served on the North Carolina Institute of Medicine’s Healthy NC 2030 task force and co-chaired the Physical Environment Work Group.

Prior to coming to NC State, Floyd served on the faculty at Clemson University, Texas A&M University, College Station, and the University of Florida.

He holds a Bachelor of Science in recreation and park administration, and a Master of Science in parks, recreation and tourism management from Clemson University; and a Ph.D. in recreation and resources development with a specialization in natural resource sociology from Texas A&M University.